September 2nd, 2006

Joe and I left Raleigh between 12:30 and 1:00, and took the tedious US 1 North route to 85.

Our ride to DC was uneventful. We stopped at a rest area, where there was an ice cream truck stopped making a killing of a business.

It wasn't clear if he had just pulled in to use the facility, and found people wanting ice cream, or if he had intentionally gone there to do business, but either way, it definitely worked out for him.

I went to buy just a regular vanilla twist ice cream from him — the kind I get from McDonald's for about a $1.25 — and he wanted 3 bucks for it. No thanks.

The bathroom at this rest stop was nasty, and the toilet Joe used (in a stall) overflowed when he flushed it. Gross.

The traffic got pretty bad once on 395 closing in on DC. Not bumper to bumper, but steady and on the slow side.

We arrived somewhere around 5:30, and just chilled out until time to head out for the evening. Our room at the Wyndham was nice, with a view into the center of the hotel, a fridge in the room, and wireless Internet access in the room.

We left the hotel at around 9 or so, looking for a place to grab a bite on the way to Remington's.

The subway stop, McPherson Square on the blue/orange line, was about 3 blocks from our hotel, and we didn't find any place open to eat between the hotel and it, so decided to just get on it, and look for a place to eat at the other end.

7 stops later, we exited at Eastern Market, and found an El Salvadorian restaurant, LaPlaza Restarante, about four doors down from Remington's still serving, so went there.

We both had cheese quesadillas, preceded by chips and salsa, that were the deal. To our surprise, with the check, the waiter brought two shots of tequila — in shot glasses, with salt on the rim, and a lime wedge across the top. Complimentary dessert.

We walked in Remingtons and walked around to the bar on the backside to get a drink. As soon as we turned the corner, I was in front, a guy, all excited, came running towards us, "Some Raleigh people! Yay!"

It was Tony, who used to live in Raleigh and dance with us, and he was way excited to see us.

I didn't dance any two-steps, mostly because I wouldn't ask anyone to dance with me, and no one asked me to dance. About six people asked Tony to dance, three of them while he was standing right next to me.

They would say, "Would you like to dance?" and he always answered, "I just moved here from Raleigh. Wednesday night was my first night here."

I guess he thought people would figure out that that meant, "I don't know how to two-step," but the way they looked at him with anticipation of an answer to their question, I'm thinking, "Not so much."

As per usual at most bars with two-stepping and line-dancing, I waited through the 20-30 minutes of two-step dances waiting for the next, usually, 3-line dance set, of which I was lucky to know one of the line dances of the three.

During the course of the evening I did Dizzy, the Mambo Shuffle (twice), and the Tush Push.

They did the Mambo Shuffle twice, because the first time, the DJ announced the Tush Push, but then evidently played the song that they usually do the Mambo Shuffle to. This is the first time I've actually seen what amounted to a "boycott" by the dancers.

Instead of doing the Mambo Shuffle, they just stood there, and yelled to the DJ, "this is the Mambo Shuffle," wanting her to stop the music and put on the song they do the Tush Push to. But she was not about to. She just let the song that was on play, and eventually, like scabs, everyone did the Mambo Shuffle.

In the next line dance set, she played the Tush Push song.

Joe spent a little time upstairs, where karaoke was going on, but he said he thought it was a little "cliquish" up there. Shortly before we left, someone asked him to two-step. He came right out and said, "Thank you for asking, but I don't know how."

We left Remington's at about 1:00, and just went back to the hotel even though the bars serve until 3AM.

Since it was before 2:00, we were able to take the subway back. Joe was just so impressed with the subway, and loved how we didn't have to drink and drive or spend $20 or so bucks for a cab.